There’ll be more than 100 million ‘smart watches’ in use by 2019, according to Juniper Research. It says new product launches by premium brands in the next 12-18 months are expected to boost awareness of wearable technology.
In addition, the Juniper Research report points out that smart watches are increasingly being differentiated by their functionality rather than by hardware design. Features including GPS and NFC connectivity are likely to become standard in the next few years, particularly as Apple has offered NFC-based payment on its new Apple Watch.
Demand for notification-based watches are expected to diminish as high-end products are introduced by brands including Apple, Google, LG, Sony and companies outside the technology sector.
However, Juniper Research anticipates the average smart watch price remaining above $200 until 2020 at the earliest.
[Whitepaper; report]